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Posts by Katie Hartfiel

Few things light up the comments section like a post on modesty. Reactions range from, “Teaching modesty is body shaming and promotes rape culture!” to “Muumuus and turtlenecks for everyone!” Usually, when people are passionate and polarized about a topic it probably means it is an important one. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could all agree on some reasonable Read more…

I recently had the gift of reconnecting with a college roommate I hadn’t seen in many years. She’s amazing. She is a Psychologist who is smart, fun, solid, adventurous, joyful… and single. Over lunch, she said something that has resonated with me in the months afterwards. My friend explained, “I thought I would go to college, meet someone, be married Read more…

Olympic star Aly Raisman said she knew she would face controversy when she decided to appear in this year’s issue of the “Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition.” Defending her decision, Aly stated, “…I love my body… women do not have to be modest in order to be respected.” In reading this, I wrestled with her statement. As St. John Paul II Read more…

Breaking up is hard to do. Whether it was a mutual decision or a heart-wrencher, the Lord wants to be the object of your rebound. Here are five messages for prayer to allow the Lord to take an active role in your healing. Comfort– Psalm 34:18-20– The righteous cry out, the Lord hears and he rescues them from all their Read more…

Our favorite movies make us feel things. As Hollywood legend Susan Sarandon said, “You go into a little dark room and become incredibly vulnerable. On one hand, all your perspectives can be challenged—you could feel something you couldn’t feel normally. It can encourage you to be the protagonist in your own life. On the other hand, it can completely misshape you.” I experience Read more…

The devil has a way of making a sin look like no big deal when you are thinking of committing it, but too big of a deal for God to forgive after you’ve done it. We’ve all experienced the endless voices of harsh thoughts after we’ve made mistakes. So, how do we know which voices are from God? If you’ve Read more…

I am often approached by young people who begin our conversation with the phrase, “So I have this friend…” Many people want to reach out to others but are afraid of being labeled as “judgy” or a “shamer.” We want to be nice, helpful and convicted as Catholics—and sometimes it’s confusing to figure out how all those can fit together. Read more…

When it comes to purity, often the hardest topic to sell to young women is that of modesty. As a teenager I had a close and personal relationship with my closet. Part of me would rather sacrifice my right arm than some of my favorite outfits. However, sanctity comes with sacrifice, and your sacrifice will not go unrewarded. Each time Read more…

As she sat across from us, her pain was almost palpable. A family friend sat with my then-fiancé and I as she lamented about her oldest son’s behavior problems. He struggled with nutrition, attention deficit and general disobedience. As she went on, she eventually divulged the real, haunting, deep truth behind her struggle. The root of her pain wasn’t her Read more…

I once heard a religious sister’s vocation story where she described her discernment process as the feeling that God was holding her vocation hostage… and it was her job to negotiate its release! She eventually discovered the truth that Fr. Mike Schmitz puts so well when he says, “God won’t ask you to answer a question that He hasn’t asked Read more…

Praying for my future spouse was one of the keys to my decision to stay pure as a teen. Ultimately, years later we discovered that my decision to dedicate myself to these prayers coincided with the date of the spontaneous conversion of my Husband-To-Be. A few years ago during a speaking engagement, a woman asked how I pray for my Read more…

Jackie Francois-Angel’s wildly popular article, “The Devil Wants You to Settle in Your Relationship,” sets forth several gut-check questions to help you determine if your relationship is “heaven-sent.” Jackie’s observations are spot on for pure Catholic singles, as well as for those who find significant others who hinder their purity. I strongly believe that the devil’s Plan A is to Read more…

In 1994, there was no choice but to wait. I remember how the world was rocked when a new technology began to shorten the distance between people, making communication easier and more instant. Three words changed everything: Dial-Up Internet. Oh yeah, I have vivid memories of waiting just a few short minutes to connect to the World Wide Web. The Read more…

I’ll never forget a conversation from a few years ago with a teen who was in anguish about her first middle school dance. It wasn’t deliberations about her dress or hair that caused knots in her stomach and kept her awake at night. There was another decision that lay before her just wasn’t sitting right. Her friends on the other Read more…

With the rise in popularity of the book turned film, 50 Shades of Grey, the word “submission” has suddenly risen from taboo, to chic for many avid fans. Ironically, a hipster-minded Catholic might venture to explain that we’ve been embracing a teaching on submission long before it was riddling the pages the pop culture phenomena… just in a very different Read more…

In its proper context, God loves sex. He could have gone with the stork or the cabbage patch, as procreative means, but God had other plans. Often times it seems that the topic of chastity can be summed up as: “no!” In fact, chastity at its core is all about “yes! By trusting Christ and following His plan, we discover Read more…

Conceal don’t feel. This is the mantra of the Snow Queen, Elsa, throughout every stage of life. That is, of course, until her climactic musical number in the Disney phenomena, Frozen. At this moment, the Queen lets her listeners know that the “perfect girl is gone” as she boldly proclaims a new mantra: “no right, no wrong, no rules for Read more…

Who doesn’t love Anna of Arendelle? It seems as if the epic tale of Frozen has captured an audience that ranges from age two to senior citizen. There is something about the combination of sacrificial love, passion, rejection, pain and joy that resonates in us… not to mention the songs are pretty catchy. I feel like Anna is so much Read more…

Katie’s story I was 17 when I had the life-changing opportunity to experience the program now known as Franciscan LEAD. This was the week I fell in love. This love had a name and a face and was more indescribable than anything I had ever experienced. It was Jesus who captured my heart and became the first Love of my Read more…

Chastity in marriage? Wait. What? Let’s back up and clear up some misconceptions about chastity… The word “chastity” isn’t synonymous with the word “abstinence”: Within this context, abstinence is defined as refraining from sexual intercourse. Abstinence is an aspect of pre-marital chastity but isn’t the endgame. Chastity runs much deeper by giving us a deep reverence and respect for both Read more…

Is it better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all? As a teenager whose heart was beaten and bruised through the pain of my parent’s divorce, I didn’t think so. To say I was bitter would be an understatement. My response to our broken home was a promise to ensure I would never relive such Read more…

She is the last thing you think of before you fall asleep and your first thought in the morning… Your heart races when you see him in the hallway… You can’t remember life without each other…. But is it the real thing? Ask yourself the following questions to shed some light on the topic: 1. Are you in love with Read more…

Chastity Project is a ministry of Stewardship: A Mission of Faith, a 501(c)(3) non profit organization. We believe everything in our lives is a gift that has been entrusted to us by God to help others.